Agitator assembly for multiple outlet hopper



July 23, 1957 D. J. AUSTERMILLER 2,800,255

AGITATOR ASSEMBLY FOR MULTIPLE QUTLET HOPPER Filed Sept. 17, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l 3 I. g s 1 1 E a 1 I g i a 4 i i i i i E i a i i a a ,1

- Y INVENTOR flowldelAmsfkmuller BY Q ATTORNEYS July 23, 1957 D, J. AUSTERMILLER 2,

AGITATOR ASSEMBLY FOR MULTIPLE OUTLET HOPPER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 17, 1954 U efifg. 2.

INVENTOR flomld JAlwk'rm/illar ATTORNEYS United States Patent AGITATOR ASSEMBLY FOR MULTIPLE OUTLET HOPPER Donald J. Austermiller, Napoleon, Qhio Application September 17, 1954, Serial No. 456,839

Claims. (Cl. 222-330) This invention relates generally to an improved agitator assembly for a multiple outlet hopper. More particularly, the invention is directed to an agitator for a multiple outlet hopper such as the hopper of a seeder.

It is not broadly new to utilize agitators in connection with seeder hoppers having seed outlets at the bottom thereof to prevent bridging of the seeds across the outlets and to insure a uniform flow of seeds into the outlets. My invention resides in certain improvements in such devices which enable more economical operation and improved results to be obtained.

The invention consists generally of an agitator for a hopper having outlets at the bottom thereof, said agitator comprising a vertical hollow cylindrical member with depending agitating fingers at the lower end thereof and extending to positions adjacent the outlets.

It is a principal object of this invention to provide an agitator for a hopper of a construction as described, which produces an effective stirring action in the immediate vicinity of the outlets with a minimum of stirring action in those portions of the hopper interior which are remote from the outlet or outlets.

It is a further object of this invention to provide such an agitator which is capable 'of rotation with a minimum of frictional resistance.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide an agitator for a hopper having a plurality of outlets at the bottom thereof, and a bolt or other vertical protuberance at the center of the group of outlets, which agitator is capable of rotation without interference with the bolt or other protuberance.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide an agitator assembly which may be quickly and easily mounted within a hopper and which may be stored easily without damage to the moving elements.

These and other objects will become more apparent from the description of the specific embodiments illustrated on the drawings and specifically described hereinafter.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view partially in front elevation and partially in section showing the apparatus of the invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken in the direction of the arrows along the line 22 of Fig ure 1; and

Figure 3 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken in the direction of the arrows along line 33 of Figure 2.

The hopper is designated generally by the reference numeral 1 and consists of a front wall 2, a rear wall 3, side walls 4' and 5 which taper inwardly at 6 and 7, and a flat bottom portion 8. There is provided a lid 9 which is flexibly secured to the hopper by means of coil springs 10 attached to brackets 11 secured on the lid and brackets 12 secured on the rear wall 3.

A reinforcing bar 13 extends the full length of the bottom portion 8. A pair of horizontally and laterally spaced seed outlets 14 and 15 extend through the bottom porice tion 8 of the hopper and through the reinforcing bar 13. Any number of seed outlets may be provided, but they should be uniformly and circumferentially spaced around the circumference of a circle. A vertical bolt 16 having a head 17 and a nut 18 extends through the bottom portion 8 and through the reinforcing bar 13 midway between the seed outlets 14 and 15. An orifice plate 19 is pivotally mounted on the bolt 16 beneath the reinforcing bar 13. A metering plate 20 is also pivotally mounted on the bolt 16 beneath the orifice plate 19. The metering plate 20 is provided with a pair of apertures 49 and 50 which are preferably of the same diameter as the seed outlets 14 and 15 and which are equally spaced from the bolt 16 so as to be capable of alignment with the seed outlets. A compression spring member 21 is positioned between the bottom portion 8 of the hopper and the nut 18. This spring member serves to yieldably urge the orifice plate 19 and the metering plate 20 toward the lower surface of the reinforcing bar 13. The metering plate 20 and orifice plate 19 arecapable of adjustment to vary the effective area of the outlets 14 and 15 in a manner described fully in my Patent No. 2,687,307, issued August 24, 1954, and entitled Seed Broadcasting Apparatus.

A rotary motor 22 is mounted beneath the bottom of the hopper and is maintained in vertically spaced relationship to the reinforcing bar 13 by means of spacer sleeves 23 and 24. The vertical shaft 25 of the motor has secured to its upper end a distributing vane assembly 26. The distributing vane assembly is rotated by the motor 22 and serves to distribute the seed in a desired pattern upon the ground. For a more complete description of the motor mounting means and the distributing vane assembly 26, reference is made to my above mentioned Patent No. 2,687,307.

Mounted within the hopper 1 is an agitator assembly, generally designated by the reference numeral 27. A motor mounting plate 28 is mounted on horizontal brace rods 29 and 30 by means of U-bolts 31 and 32. The motor mounting plate is maintained in parallel and vertically spaced relationship with the hopper bottom 8. A a rotary motor 33 is mounted on the mounting plate 28. The motor 33 is preferably an electric motor operable by current from a suitable source to which the motor is connected by means of wires 34. The wires are secured by means of clip 35 to horizontal'brace rod 36. The brace rods 29, 30 and 36 are secured to the front and rear walls 2 and 3 by means of nuts 37 and 37a.

The vertical shaft 38 of the motor 33 has secured to its lower end a hollow cylindrical member 39 by means of set screw 40. Thus, the cylindrical member is vertically adjustable and may be fixed at any point along shaft 38. The cylindrical member 39 is provided with smooth inner and outer surfaces which enable rotation with minimum frictional resistance. Surrounding the cylindrical member 39 and spaced therefrom is shield element 41. The shield element 41 is secured to the under surface of motor mounting plate 28 as by welding. An opening 42 -is provided in shield element 41 through which a suitable Allen wrench may be inserted to adjust set screw 40. The opening 42 may be closed by means of a rubber plug 43 to prevent the entrance of seed into the interior portion of shield element 41. The shield element 41 prevents the seed from packing around the vertical shaft 38 and the upper portions of cylindrical member 39 to further reduce frictional resistance to rotation. The shield element 41 and cylindrical member 39 tend to trap air therein thereby preventing the seeds from moving upwardly intothe interior portion of the sleeve 41 or cylinder 39 to any substantial extent. The 'hollow cylindrical member 39 has an inside diameter sufficiently large so that the cylindrical member 39 surrounds bolt 16 and spring 21 is spaced therefrom. Thus, cylindrical member 39 may Patented July 23, 1957' advantageous.

invention as described by the following claims.

be freely rotated without interference by the bolt 16 or the spring 21.

Depending from the bottom end of cylindrical member 39 are a pair of agitating fingers 44 and 45. Any number of agitating fingers may beYused, but it isparncularly advantageous to provideone. such finger for each seed outlet and to uniformly and circumferentially space the fingers around the bottom of the cylindrical member 39 in such a manner that during rotation all of the agitating fingers will pass above seed outlets simultaneously. This will insure that the degree of agitation at each seed outlet will be the same, thus producing a uniform seed flow through each outlet. The tips of the agitating fingers may be flared slightly outwardly as at 46 and 47. The leading edge of each of the fingers 44 and 45 may be beveled, as indicated at 48. An important advantage of this invention lies in the fact that appreciable stirring action is eifected only in the immediate vicinity of the outlets, and resistance to rotation is thereby substantially reduced. The frictional resistance caused by the seeds acting against the smooth surfaces of the cylindrical member 39 is relatively small, and the agitating fingers 44 and 45 are in effect mere extensions of the walls of the cylindrical member. The seeds directly impinge only on the relatively short leading edges of the agitating fingers, and no cross arms or spiders are required. With this construction, a smaller rotative force is required of the motor 33, and more economical operation results.

The diameter of the cylindrical member 39 should be selected so that during rotation the agitator fingers 44 and 45 pass over the seed outlets 14 and on a line between the center of the seed outlets and the inner edges thereof. This positions the maximum area of agitation within the inner half of'the seed outlets and efiects a more uniform flow of seeds through the outlets.

The cylindrical member 39 is so positioned on shaft 38 that the bottom ends of fingers 44 and 45 terminate at points adjacent to the hopper bottom 8. Thus, the maximum agitation is achieved in the immediate vicinity of the seed outlets 14 and 15. The agitator assembly 27 should be positioned horizontally so that the axis of the cylindrical member 39 intersects the bottom portion 8 at a point approximately midway between the outlets 14 and 15. In the event that more than two outlets are provided, the axis of the cylindrical member 39 would intersect the bottom portion 8 at the center of the circle, the circumference of which intersects the centers of the outlets.

During operation of the seeder device, the seeds which are placed in hopper 1 fall downwardly and drop through outlets 14 and 15 onto the rotating vane assembly 26 and are thrown outwardly in the desired pattern onto the ground. The cylindrical member 39 is rotated by means of motor 33 and the agitating fingers 44 and 45 pass above and adjacent to the outlets 14 and 15, thus insuring a free i and uniform flow of seeds through the outlets.

The agitator assembly can be easily and quickly mounted within the hopper. Its construction enables it to be stored either in or out of the hopper with little danger of injury to the motor or other elements of the assembly.

I have described the hopper agitator of this invention in connection with a seeder with which it is particularly It is pointed out, however, that the invention may be utilized to facilitate the dispensing of any suitable material such as fertilizer and the like.

I have illustrated and described what I consider to be the preferred embodiment of the invention. It will be understood, however, that various modifications may be made without departing from the broader scope of the I claim:

1. A dispensing device comprising a hopper having a flat horlzontal bottom portion, a plurality of outlets in said bottom portion arranged in circumferentially spaced relationship on the circumference of a circle, an agitator assembly mounted in said hopper, said agitator assembly comprising a vertically disposed hollow cylindrical member with the axis thereof intersecting the center of said circle and the lower end thereof positioned relatively close to said bottom portion, the diameter of said cylindrical member being such that the wall thereof substantially overlies said outlets, power means to rotate said cylindrical member, and a plurality of short circumferentially spaced agitating fingers depending generally vertically from the bottom end of said cylindrical member, said agitating fingers terminating adjacent said bottom portion and passing above said outlets upon rotation of said cylindrical member.

2. A dispensing device as recited in claim 1 wherein said outlets and said agitating fingers are uniformly spaced and equal in number.

3. A dispensingdevice comprising a hopper having a flat horizontal bottom portion, a pair of spaced outlets in said bottom portion, an agitator assembly mounted in said hopper comprising a vertical hollow cylindrical member having a diameter at least as great as the distance between said outlets so that the wall. of said cylindrical member substantially overlies said outlets, the axis of said cylindrical member intersecting said bottom portion at a point midway between said outlets and the lower end of said cylindrical member being positioned relatively close to said bottom portion, power means to rotate said cylindrical member, a shield element surrounding the upper portion of said cylindrical member and spaced therefrom, and a pair of diametrically opposed agitating fingers depending generally vertically from the bottom end of said cylindrical member, said agitating fingers terminating adjacent said bottom portion and passing above said outlets upon rotation of said cylindrical member.

4. A dispensing device as recited in claim 3, wherein the ends of said agitating fingers are spaced apart an amount greater than the distance between the inside edges of said outlets but less than the distance between the centers of said outlets.

5. A seed dispensing device comprising a hopper having a bottom portion, a plurality of outlets in said bottom portion, said outlets being arranged in circumferentially spaced relationship on the circumference of a circle, a

bolt extending through said bottom portion at the center of said circle, a metering plate rotatably mounted on said bolt below said bottom portion, said metering plate having a plurality of apertures therein positioned to be capable of alignment with said seed outlets, a compression spring member on said bolt within said hopper and urging said metering plate toward said bottom portion, an agitator assembly mounted in said hopper, said assembly comprising a vertical hollow cylindrical member surrounding said bolt and spring member, the axis of said cylindrical member intersecting the center of said circle, power means to rotate said cylindrical member, and a pair of agitating fingers depending downwardly from the bottom end of said cylindrical member, said agitating fingers terminating adjacent said bottom portion and passing. above said outlets upon rotation of said cylindrical member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,067,174 Johnson July 8, 1913 1,514,330 Neal et a1. Nov. 4, 1924 2,306,748 Peterson Dec. 29, 1942 2,547,794 Stone Apr. 3, 1951 2,565,427 Herd Aug. 21, 1951 2,574,231 Sinden Nov. 6, 1951 2,601,534 Laffoon June 24, 1952 2,625,305 Conkling Jan. 13, 1953 

